British Rescue Was Reckless, Media Club Says

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: September 11, 2009

Afghan journalists on Thursday blamed what they called a reckless rescue operation by British commandos for a kidnapped colleague's death and said foreign troops had a double standard for Western and Afghan lives.

The death of Sultan Munadi, an Afghan translator and reporter, during a raid in which the military was trying to free him and Stephen Farrell, a British-Irish journalist for The New York Times, could aggravate anger among some Afghans over the conduct of foreign troops.

The newly formed Media Club of Afghanistan, created by Afghan reporters who work with international news organizations, condemned the Taliban for kidnapping the reporters.

But the journalists also said they held NATO-led forces responsible for launching a military operation without exhausting nonviolent means for freeing them.

They also criticized British commandos for leaving Mr. Munadi's body behind while retrieving that of a British soldier who was killed.

The office of Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain said Thursday that the rescue operation, conducted early Wednesday in the northern province of Kunduz, was an attempt to recover both Mr. Munadi and Mr. Farrell and that it was authorized as the ''best chance of protecting life.''

An Afghan official said earlier that the prospect that the hostages would be moved to Pakistan, placing them in even greater peril, led Britain to order the raid when it did.

Mr. Munadi, 34, died in a hail of gunfire during the commando raid -- though it was unclear if the bullets came from British troops or his Taliban captors. Mr. Farrell was rescued unhurt.